A Masquerade Ball
by Captainfredrickwentworth
Summary: Rose attends her twenty second birthday party, which because of Pete's wealth and the fact that Jackie can do whatever she likes, is a themed Masquerade Ball. This story is just a little fluff. Post Doomsday. Reunion fic. I hope you like it :)


**Just one of my many ideas for sweet little one-shots and reunion fics. Hope you enjoy :)**

**I don't own anything. I mean I do own some things but Doctor Who is unfortunately not one of them.**

"Rose we're going to be late!" yelled Jackie from the other room and Rose groaned. A masquerade ball really wasn't what she wanted to be doing on a Friday night but Pete had insisted she attend and who was she to refuse him, him who had given her everything except the one thing she needed most. 'That one thing however is not in this universe and never can be' she reminded herself as she picked tied the ribbon of her mask around the back of her head.

"Now how's this?" Rose walked to the stop of the stairs and twirled from her parents who were waiting at the bottom. Her black and white gown fanned out and the few loose curls left out of her stylish bun fluttered in the breeze.

"You look beautiful" Pete looked at her and grinned.

"I really don't know why you insist on me going to this silly thing, you know I hate social occasions" she walked carefully down the stairs and placed her hands on her hips in front of her father.

"I really want you to be there ok?" Pete grinned at Jackie "I really think you'll love what we have planned".

"If it's another bloke then I may as well go back upstairs, you know I'm not interested in dating".

"We promise it's not another bloke now come on or we're gonna be late" he led the two women outside and opened the car door for them before joining them in the back seat while his personal best friend and chauffer drove them to the location of the ball.

"Why aren't we just having the ball at our place?" Rose asked raising and eyebrow at him "It's plenty big enough and we hardly use that ballroom".

"Oh Rose will you just stop that?" Jackie let out an impatient sigh "The place where we are going is much nicer than our ballroom".

Rose stayed silent until they pulled up in front of a large estate and they had to be let in by the guards at the gate before they could enter in to the house. "Oh mum this place is beautiful" Rose gasped at the garden that stretched out around them "What's this ball for again? Is this just an excuse to get really, really drunk?"

"Like you're mother needs an excuse to party" Pete scoffed and put his arm around Jackie who looked up at him lovingly.

"Ok you two I'm still in the car" Rose turned away when they kissed each other.

"Not for long you won't be" Jackie noticed they were nearing the turning circle and sat up a little straighter so that she was ready to get out when they arrived.

Pete opened the door for them and they stepped out into the cool night air "It's a bit chilly isn't it?" Jackie rubbed her exposed arms.

Rose stretched her arms out and spun around slowly, enjoying the feeling of the breeze on his skin.

"I think it's lovely" she sighed letting her arms fall again as she stopped spinning.

"It'll be warmer inside" Pete ushered them up the stairs "Come on".

When they entered the hall Rose gasped, the view was breathtaking there were couples dancing in perfect lines in the sunken in floor of the ballroom. "What do you think Rose?" Pete grinned at her.

"Guys what is this all for?" she waited for an answer.

"Well you should know" Pete laughed "It's your birthday tomorrow so we thought we'd have the party tonight since I'll be too busy tomorrow".

Rose wrapped her arms around both him and Jackie and squeezed them in a hug "You really didn't have to do anything. All these people" she looked around the room at the crowd.

"Why not go all out if you can afford it?" Jackie laughed "This'll be the best birthday you've ever had".

Rose's smiled faltered just slightly and her mother's face changed "Oh sweetheart please don't do this to yourself. Try to have a good night tonight there's no blokes don't worry".

Rose nodded and she moved around the enormous room until she found Mickey and Jake. "How do you like your surprise Rose?" Mickey greeted her with a hug.

"I can't believe you didn't tell me about it" she punched him playfully in the arm.

"Hey, hey calm down" he laughed and got a grip on her wrist.

"This mask is so itchy I tell you" Jake pulled off his mask and scratched his cheek.

"You better put that back on" Rose grinned at him "You'll find it easier to stalk girls of they can't see you looking at them".

"We were so not gonna do that" Mickey laughed and a cunning smile grew on his face.

Rose slapped them both over the head and walked away snickering. "Oh Rose it's so good to see you again" said a voice beside her.  
'Oh boy the socialising begins' she thought turning to face an older couple that were smiling at her pleasantly.

"Mr and Mrs Chambers" she grinning giving them both a hug and a kiss on the cheek. She quite liked the Chambers except for the fact that they were a couple and married, living together, in a house, with the person they love. Couples really weren't her thing at the moment.

Rose slowly made her way around half of the room, after many "How are you darlings?" and "Oh it's so wonderful to see yous" she was just about ready to explode. These people didn't really care about her they were just here for the free drinks and nibbles.

"Now it's time for the birthday girl to have a dance" said the MCs voice over the speakers. Rose found herself in the middle of a spotlight and blushed furiously "Pick your partner".

Rose scanned the room for someone to dance with; she was just about to resort to one of the less desirable men who would be absolutely thrilled to finally get her attention when she spotted Jake and Mickey. She made her way around the room with everyone watching her until she stopped in front of Mickey who held out his hand to her.

"Thank you" she took his hand and he led her to the dance floor where they were to waltz around with everyone looking at them.

"This is so embarrassing" Mickey mumbled to her as the music started and they moved slowly but gracefully around the deserted dance floor.

"Oh you think?" she couldn't help but laugh. Her eyes trailed along the edge of the crowd and for a moment she thought she saw the familiar glow of the Doctors sonic screwdriver, but it had just been somebodies phone.

"Alright young ones" came the MC's voice and both Mickey and Rose let out a sigh of relief "Take your partners in the middle of the dance floor for the cha-cha".

Heaps of couple joined them on the dance floor and Rose released she would be dancing with nearly all of these men by the end of the dance. She groaned and Mickey smiled at her "You'll be fine Rose".

"Are you sure about that?" she noticed some of the blokes were looking at her like she was something to eat.

"They just know a beautiful woman when they see one" Mickey shrugged.

"No they just know the Vitex heiress when they see her" she cocked an eyebrow at him.

"It doesn't matter it's not like any of them actually have a chance with you anyway" he grinned as the music started.

"You got that right" she laughed as he spun her around.

"See you later then" he waved as she spun towards the next partner in the circle.

'Oh Great' she thought when she saw Johnny Blake in front of her. He was well known for being an absolute sleaze and she wondered which unfortunate girl had agreed to dance with him.

He pulled her a little too close to him and they started to move "Happy Birthday little Rosebud" his voice made her shiver and cringe at the same time.

"Hello Johnny, how are you?" she looked at him with a slight disgust showing through her calm façade.

"Better now I assure you" he whispered in her ear and she tried to pry him off her a little bit. He spun her off and she breathed deeply not even wanting to look at the guy she'd landed on next. He was taller this guy but she didn't want to look up into his face; it was masked anyway so it wasn't likely she'd know him. He was skinny but held onto her with great strength. She didn't feel uncomfortable though, unlike with Johnny this bloke's arms were holding her protectively as if he knew what she was thinking about the partners she had to dance with and he wanted to protect her from them.

When she had to spin away from him he seemed reluctant to let go and she had to admit that she was too 'No Rose stop it' she mentally slapped herself in the face 'You love the Doctor and you'll be waiting for him when he comes back'. As she spun away she muttered a word of thanks and she was sure he heard her because he seemed to watch her even when she had moved on to yet another Johnny Blake specimen.

When the dance ended Rose was back dancing with Mickey again and for the she was glad, the whole thing had been horrible expect for Mickey and the guy in the mask. She decided to refer to him as the guy in the mask because then she never had to know his name and her mother wouldn't be able to pester her about him later.

Rose moved to the edge of the room with Mickey and Jake who were both watching Johnny Blake flirt with Mickey's crush. "You should have danced with her Mickey" Rose nudged him.

"Well I did for a minute and I would have again if you hadn't have picked me as your partner" he pretended to be mad.

"I'm sorry Mickey you are the only guy I know in this room that isn't ninety years old, my dad or a predator" she patted his arm apologetically.

"Oh thanks" Jake laughed.

"You are too Jake but I was sure you had your eye on the brunette by the bar" she pointed to the girl standing by the bar with her group of friends.

"Well..." he said much the way she was so used to the Doctor saying it "I just thought maybe not, I mean she's still pretty but I'm not a one night stand kinda guy and some women have trouble accepting that".

"No I can't say I'll be jumping into bed with any of these guys either just quietly" she laughed at the group of predators down by the dance floor "Not that I would anyway but still there is no chance".

"What about that guy you were dancing with?" Mickey asked her "The one who had a top hat on with his mask".

"He had a top hat on?" she asked and Mickey laughed at the look on her face.

"You weren't paying attention were you? Not that I can blame you with most of those men, I only got a glance at him myself" Mickey scanned the group of predators "Definitely no top hat guy in that lot anyway".

Rose looked around the room before turning to answer Mickey "Well that guy was an excellent dancer I must say".

"Oh so maybe there is something there" Mickey grinned at her.

"No Mickey" she looked at him suddenly serious again "There can't ever be".

Mickey sighed "Rose you gotta give a guy a chance one day".

Rose shook her head slowly not saying a word and turned to walk back to the entrance of the room. She sat down on one of the chairs and was pleasantly surprised that she was left alone for a few minutes. Jackie saw her and came to sit with her "You alright Rose?" she wrapped her arm around her shoulders.

"Yeah mum I'm fine" she lied, smiling uneasily.

"Are you prepared for one last dance in the spotlight?" Jackie asked her worriedly.

"I guess I'll have to be" Rose sculled the rest of her champagne and stood up.

Jackie stood up with her "You don't have to if you don't want to but the man voted best dancer by your father's colleagues will be dancing with you".

"Are you kidding me? They'll most likely vote for some old man for a joke and then his hands will start to wander and I'll get my feet flattened by the end of the night" Rose took another glass of champagne of a passing waiter and took a large gulp from it.

"Alright now" came the voice of the MC and people backed away from him so everyone could see. "I'd like to invite Rose's personal friend Mandy Willis up here to lead us in singing happy birthday to our beautiful heiress then we will announce which lucky man gets the privilege of dancing with Rose for the Tango". Several wolf whistles rang out and Rose's cheeks went bright red. Anyone but Johnny Blake would be fine; even if it was a creepy old man she'd still feel safer than with Johnny.

Everyone clapped Rose's friend Mandy up to the microphone and she counted them in to sing. When everybody started singing Rose felt every pair of eyes on her and if she thought she'd been blushing before her cheeks were about to explode now. She made her way carefully down the stairs to where an enormous cake covered in candles was waiting for her. She blew out the top candle when the singing stopped and cheering erupted as she extinguished the rest.

"Speech!" several people yelled and she walked stubbornly up to the microphone.

"Hello" she said into the microphone meeting more cheers. Seriously being an heiress made her like a celebrity.

"Well thank you all for coming to my twenty-second birthday!" she plastered he fake grin on her face and made sure she left it there.

"Um well as you all know I haven't been in society here very long and I think you are all probably getting sick of my face so I'll make this quick" she joked and the room erupted with polite laughter.

"Alright well I'd just like to say thank you to everyone for accepting me here and it's been a pretty good year" she looked down at her hands for a moment, that had to have been the biggest lie she had ever told "Please help yourselves to more drinks and enjoy your evening. Oh and someone better cut about a quarter of that cake to go to the kids room" she grinned and everyone clapped.

"Rose please make your way down to the dance floor" Rose stepped carefully down onto the polished wood and waited "And the partner to be joining you is..." the MC paused for effect as he opened the envelope "The Doctor".

Rose's heart sank as she released what he'd said "Is this your idea of a joke?" she called up to the MC who recoiled as her fury hit him.

"Rose" Jackie called to her. Rose turned to face her and Jackie pointed to the doorway where there was a silhouette of a man in a top hat. The man walked slowly down the stairs and Rose gaped at him. Now that she looked at his face she noticed the familiar chin and that mouth, her suspicions were confirmed when he removed the top hat to reveal his amazing hair.

He stopped at the other end of the dance floor and gazed at her. Everybody seemed to be holding their breath as she walked up to him, if it wasn't for the sound of her shoes you'd have been able to hear a pin drop.

The Doctor could feel the eyes on him and he shuffled his feet slightly. Rose was right in front of him now, still staring at him in disbelief. He allowed her to reach up to where his mask was resting concealing half of his face and pull it up slowly.

She gasped when she saw the familiar face staring back at her and she felt a tear go down her cheek. He lifted his hand carefully and wiped away the tear. "You're real" she whispered.

"And you're an heiress" he grinned at her and she grinned back at him. Her face relaxed as she laughed her first genuine laugh since he had left her. He wrapped his arms around her back and she gripped him in a bone-crushing hug.

He picked her up and spun her around "I've missed you so much Rose" he whispered in her ear.

"Oh really?" she kept her arms around his neck as they swayed "Prove it".

He hesitated for a moment glancing at the people watching. She stood there waiting with her eyebrows raised and her hands on her hips "Rose people are watching" he whined.

"Are you ashamed of me Doctor?" she felt good to be able to tease him again.

"No Rose" he said most sincerely "I just...oh stuff it" he wrapped his arms around her again and brought his lips crashing down onto hers.

Rose considered herself lucky she had been bracing herself for his sudden snap when it occurred. She was lifted off her feet but the kiss didn't lessen in intensity, he was clearly giving it everything he had, all that was unsaid and all the time they had missed together seemed to melt away.

The sound of cheers was already erupting from the crowd but the loudest of all were Jackie and Pete. Jackie made her way around the microphone. "Hello there everyone" she grinned around the room "I'd just like to invite you to celebrate another occasion tonight. My daughter and that daft fool down there have been separated for over a year and much to my amazement he has finally found his way back to her so I think he deserves a round of applause". Everyone clapped and Jackie made her way down to where Rose and the Doctor were still swaying together. The Doctor braced himself for a slap but instead was met by kisses all over his face which he tried to avoid with little success.

Rose never let go of the Doctor's hand for the rest of the night and when the party was over and everyone was going home he took her outside to where a very familiar blue box was parked. She let out a cry of excitement and ran to hug to outside of the box. Oh how she'd missed everything to do with the Doctor. She leaned against the TARDIS and turned to face him. He was watching her with and amused look on his face.

"What?" she asked not really caring about the answer, only caring about how good he looked with his suit jacket slung over his shoulder hanging by a finger and how his bowtie looked when it was undone, so much more like him, he must have hated that tux.

"You" he grinned at her and stopped about a meter away.

"So Doctor" she moved towards him slowly "Am I to understand that you want to take me with you again?" she asked serious-faced as her arms snaked their way around his neck.

"Yes" he nodded at her with a serious face before grinning again and putting his arms around her.

"And how long do you want me for?" she asked making a point of stroking the hair lightly just above the back of his neck.

"Forever" he leaned in and kissed her again. She never did say anything else but he could feel the grin on her lips as she kissed him back.

**Tell me what you thought of it. I quite liked writing it, it's a lot less heavy then my current series ROTW. Hopefully it put a smile on someones face :) Thanks for being awesome all of you, seriously you guys are awesome, don't doubt it ;)**


End file.
